A popular guidebook during the western expansion and a valuable collectible today, The Emigrantsí Guide was first published in 1845. While the book introduced those heading west to the beauty and habitable nature of the Pacific coast, it had considerable shortcomings - it was the guide used by the ill-fated Donner Party. As a corrective, Randolph Marcy published a more accurate guide, The Prairie Traveler (also available from Applewood Books).